Saturday, September 26, 2009

was having brunch at the coffee connoisseur in singapore and i came across a small booklet that was placed on every table. it's the 'all you need to know... about coffee' thingy, which includes tcc's history, coffee facts, crossword puzzles and there's this thing that caught my attention the most: the coffee personas. and below are the few coffee personas featured in the booklet which i find really hilarious:

1. the serial coffee addict (aka the 'godfather')

the godfather maintains a love-hate relationship with coffee - he loves coffee as much as money and hatesto admit that he cannot go by a single day without coffee.

the godfather needs his fix more than he needs water, has a discriminating palette for the mediocre cuppa and he will snort at coffee brewed with fine grind.

how to spot the 'godfather'?

he guzzles down his coffee like an isotonic drink.

he buys coffee from tcc by the dozens.

he claims that caffeine has no effect on him even if he drinks 6 to 7 cups daily.

2. the coffee fashionista

ms coffee fashionista knows the a to z about coffee, from her collection of filters, french presses to vacuumpots. she brews coffee like she dances ballet, and views the process of brewing as an art form.

ms coffee fashionista is driven by compulsion in her pursuit of 'the perfect cup' and thinks that the right to fine coffee ranks among the 'save the earth' campaigns and 'stop extinction' movements. she will flaunt herknowledge to the apathetic waiter at the cafe taking her orders, and probe through her inch-thick glasses on where the beans are from, when the beans are roasted and how the coffee will be brewed.

how to spot the 'coffee fashionista'?

she will as to taste the coffee before buying, and will demand for only freshly roasted beans.

she frequents cafes that serve gourmet coffee like the coffee coinoisseur (tcc), and indulges in only thefinest selection like the blue mountain.

3.the caffeine disorder drinker (also known as the 'cdd' syndrome)

you can spot them at almost any coffee houses and college campuses. they drink their java by the pots andcram overnight sessions of mugging with rites of coffee brewing.

they consume their coffee to conform with the age-old tradition of late night studying, and they speak of the quantity of coffee they consumed in a night to keep them awake for studying, like the war-seasoned soldiers telling their post-war stories.

how to spot the 'caffeine disorder drinker'?

they buy instant coffee by the truckloads off the shelves of super marts.

they guard and worship their treasure trove of coffee with an all-vigilant eye.

they camp at major coffee houses for their caffeine fix and go by the motto - 'give us any coffee, as long asit is black'.

4.the coffee candy cane

this group loves their coffee smoothened with candy-flavored syrup and caramel, with lots of marshmallows and rainbow-colored chocolate rice. they would ask for melted chocolate bars to be thrown in if they could have their way.

they will hang out all night for their post-dinner coffee and candied-fix in the droves and buzz off their seat to proclaim in a loud exclamation of their delightful fix!

how to spot the 'coffee candy cane'?

they love their coffee as long as it is sweet.

they speak of their knowledge on the difference between adding caramel and adding chocolate to coffee with much pride.

they fascinate at the wide variety of coffee selection a cafe like tcc serves, and will have tried everything from coffee with chocolate and raspberry, to coffee with oreo cookies and almond roca!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

You seen her where Yoko Ono and John Lenon dons the cover of the magazine rolling stone in the dawn of the 80s and still permeate our visual contemporary culture to this day, you might have also seen her where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes embracing their new born baby girl Suri ,which I personally will admit to have scour the internet to satisfy my curiosity, or maybe it was that risque photo where Keira Knightly, Scarlett Johansson, and a fully dressed Tom Ford is spread amongst lushly looking black velvet, and maybe it was that recent controversial "naked" portrait of Miley Cyrus that garnered your attention more.

However you look at it these photographic pieces of Americana was done by a very tasteful Annie Leibovitz, if not a spendthrift one at that. (googling her will tell you why) Her portraits of our ever fascination of celebrity and social who's who satisfies our thoughts if not curiousities, her image of them is stark, often capturing the spirit if not the essence of the subject, it has the power of hindsight to know what the audience wants and frankly they dont disappoint one bit.

So never mind the awards, and accolades, the scandals and what not, and never mind your empty walls you wish you had put something up, and never mind that most of us cant even afford her, I'm paying a visit to my local ubiquitous Indian back issue news stands and I'm getting as much vanity fair magazines as I can possibly scour and hopefully one day have the audacity to frame it up together with my other more personal photos. Till then it's the most accesible prints of Annie Leibovitz's works I can think of.

I also find that if you prefer less fashion oriented and more social political content in American fashion magazines, Vanity Fair will be most suitable as is Esquire magazines. Also as a last note, I might add that Annie Leibovitz's serves as only a contributing photographer and not all issues of vanity fair magazines contains her works, but you can almost be certain that any famous and important figure in American society will have the higher chances of being covered by her.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Back in the year 2004 I was reading a rather depressing book pharmaceutically titled Prozac Nation and whilst almost finishing the book, I had thought that it was an eye opening subject that is rarely talked about in my living social fabric, but also at the same time it was a grim read, literally dirty, not in that sexual way, but in the very real sense that it made me felt I hadn't taken a shower for weeks, that I hadn't really looked at myself in the mirror, or check to see if I had eaten anything at all for the day. It was sad and whilst it gave me a somewhat point of view that sort of agrees to mine, I felt that it will be one book that I will come to forget, get over with, the subject as well as the psychological condition. Because frankly reading that book gave me reflections of the self? its capability if you will let it distort, will and mostly certainly do.

And so it was one of those stay in days reading in the kitchen, cigarettes and coffees, a light snack here and there to fester the completion of the book I find so disparagingly hard to complete, then my housemate barge in from the colder autumn days that came spilling not only the cold from the outer but the innards?of her rather posh shoulder bag, and there it was, white cover, with a portrait of a rather handsome looking American, slightly thinner, taller, harder looking Richard Gere look alike, an American no doubt, it has to be somehow I thought to myself. And although I didn't think much of it, it pique my buds enough to ask her what the book was about. She had but lightly in her very own diplomatic character told me that it was about the world of cooks, restaurants, and food. Bless her, she did open up a whole new realm for me there.

Needless to say, I was hooked from the very first page. The language of this man is straightforward, no nonsense, and he writes likes he speaks, it was on a very personal level that so much so I wished every autobiography was written that way, unforgiving, straight from the heart, no veneers, smokescreens, or any fancy words at that, only if it's really very necessary, his metaphors are brilliant and easy to grasp, and if you didn't, he'll explain it to you, and it's humorous even at times, but enough on the writing.

This man dishes out everything he knows in this book, it's almost like a starter pack for anybody who wants to read about the world of culinary arts and the underbelly of it. You get a sense he's not leaving you in the blind, everything is told, no one is spared but their names, and you're not just getting stories about food and their little own lexicons, its everything else that comes with it, all the sex, revenge, bad tempers, bad management, the nook and crannies, profanities, the sex, the drugs, the rock and roll, the binging and every part of the meat you can imagine and even more. At the same time, he tells you the finer things in life, the joy of cooking and eating, the beauty and sacredness of food, but also the sadness about certain dying artisan craftsmanship happening in the world, the sadness about suicidal Michelin stared chefs, and the glories and failures seen and heard on and off the record in the culinary world.

So anyone that has seen his TV shows, and enjoyed it, but never picked up a copy of his best-selling book, I assure you, it's going to be worthwhile. Everything that you thought you liked about this man and his life is magnified better in the book. Personally, it almost feels like he was doing the show and writing the book at the same time, but only much better in detail and with no censorship, at least it felt pretty damn close that he did. Oh and by the way, I never did return the book to the lady that came in from the cold, neither had I finish reading Prozac Nation?

P.S. if you happen to have already read "Kitchen Confidential", check out his Les Halles Cookbook, I assure you his "edgy" manner of speaking and personality continues there.

"...food is the most beautiful thing in this world that truly nourishes..." - anonymous.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

One would expect this spread will be filled with much advertising, humongous headlines and more columns than we care to read about. Instead it reads more like someone really smart feeding you important current information in and around the car industry without treating you like a complete child. It would also sit handsomely beside you and garner some attention modestly abet the generous size, because frankly, a glossy issue of “Top Gear” or “Car” just makes me slightly ashamed that I actually spent more 10 cups worth of white coffee for a single monthly issue. It will then show you all of its family and friends photos (in this case, cars) and then some, explains to you rather unbiasedly how each and everyone of them are related, came about, and what might their future hold, all rather unbiasedly but at the same time, very justly opinionated.

So yes, Wheels Weekly is fast! It comes every week, and it comes with very good sized photos! We are talking about mostly at least full, if not half off an A3 sized page. The layout is clean, direct, and tasteful, and that also means we’re getting more of what we pay for, its content is relentlessly important and relevant if you’re passionate about the world of automobiles and if you’re not, it drives you to that “place” anyway.

So never mind that cup of white coffee, or going online and typing in keywords, Wheels Weekly serves you indefinitely on that level of wakefulness.

One word: Provoke. Where his fashion designs are timeless classics reinvented, everything else thereon, from the image photography to the idea which is the man encapsulates the spirit hereto. We personally fink this is one of the more tasteful ad campaigns since Sophie Dahl's bare all in YSL's "Opium" ad. Enter: Tom Ford

“There’s one indulgence every man should try in his lifetime. If your straight, sleep with a man at least once, and if you’re gay, don’t go through life without sleeping with a woman..."- Tom Ford

We like good photographs done right and done edgy, especially when there's also celebrities as subjects (at least we do!). And we like it even better when the navigation of the site is easy to steer and well-sized resolution jpeg's are ready to be downloaded.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

There seem to be another new car magazine in KL, and its gana come our way weekly in news stand. So watch out for "Wheels Weekly" naturally at your local news stand. While their website explains what content they will mostly be covering, I had just lightly brush over them until I get a copy tomorrow and hopefully give you my 2 cents about it. But judging by its cover stories I have a feeling this new mag sets itself apart quite differently. Watch this space.